Clyde & Co’s Oman office launch maintains ‘expansion’ push

Before joining Clyde & Co, Marla Valdez was a partner at law practice Dentons.

The association with Fatma Al Mamari Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Firm gives Clyde its fifth office in the Middle East, complementing sites in key markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The Muscat office will focus on foreign investment into Oman. For construction clients, this means legal advice on regulatory and compliance matters on infrastructure and energy projects. Additionally, Clyde & Co’s Muscat office will advise on mergers and acquisitions, employment, intellectual property, as well as other legal concerns.

Joining the Muscat office is newly-appointed managing partner Marla Valdez, who boasts two decades of legal experience with a host of global firms. Stephen McKenna has joined the Muscat office as legal director. He relocated from Clyde & Co’s Abu Dhabi branch.

On the firm’s growth in the Middle East, Niall O’Toole, partner, Clyde & Co in Dubai, said: “Opening an associated office in Oman will allow us to extend, more directly, our reach in the Middle East and offer clients in the region and beyond a seamless service across borders".

Jonathan Silver, chairman of Clyde & Co's regional management board, added: "We pride ourselves on our ability to understand and advise our clients on commercial and legal risk across borders, which is why continued international expansion is central to our growth plans. Having operated in the region for almost 30 years, we are excited to be able to offer clients such an experienced team ‘on the ground’ in another key market in the region, which is experiencing strong growth in our core sectors, such as infrastructure, energy, education, and healthcare".

The Muscat office’s managing partner, Marla Valdez, who had previously advised clients on big energy and infrastructure projects, said she looked forward to “strong growth in Oman.

Clyde & Co claim to be largest international law firm in the Middle East, with over 40 partners and 400 staff. Its office tie-up with Fatma Al Mamari Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Firm is the latest phase of its regional expansion, following the appointment of five new partner faces – Ian Chung, shipping; Glenn Lovell, corporate; Dino Wilkinson, technology; Matthew Heywood, construction; and Mark Devaney, intellectual property.